Auston Johnson
Candidate for: State Auditor

Political party: Republican
Birth date:  09/29/49
Birth place:  Salt Lake City
Current city of residence:  South Jordan
Family members: Wife, Three Sons, Two Grandchildren
Current occupation:  State Auditor
Education:  BS in Accounting from Utah State University, 1976
Hobbies/Interests:  Wood Carving, Gardening, and Hunting

1. Using 150 to 200 words, please state your reasons for running for office. What compels you to take on this responsibility? 
    
   I have been the State Auditor since 1995.  My reasons for running for office are the same today as they were then.  I want to ensure that the State of Utah and the local governments of Utah are accountable to the people they serve.  I want to make sure that financial activities are transparent to the citizens of this State.  I think it’s very important that the person who serves as State Auditor is independent both in fact and appearance so that people who read our reports can rely on the information contained therein.  I have been able to remain objective in our reports and in our criticism of various governments.  I am very conservative by nature and profession, and don’t like to pay taxes any more than you do.  So I want to play a part in examining the expenditure of our tax dollars to make sure those dollars go where they were intended, and that they were used as efficiently as possible.
    
2. What do you consider to be the top three issues currently facing Utah?
    
   Please list them in order of priority to you (with #1 the most important) and explain why they are important to you and to Utah.  Because the State Auditor does not make policy, my top issues are probably different from someone serving in the Legislature or as Governor.  As stated above, my first issue is accountability both for my office and the resources I have been given, and for State and local governments.   My second issue is ensuring governments establish controls in their entities that provide safety for the resources they control.  This means that every government whether it be a school board, city council, or county commission have internal controls in place so that resources are not stolen, misused, or wasted.  Third is access to information.  Every citizen in this state should be able to obtain budgets, financial records, and reports of the activity of the governments they are interested in.  And rather than governments hiding behind GRAMMA type laws, governments should be trying to provide information and make it clear to citizens why they do what they do.
    
3. What do you plan to do to address your top three issues? 
    
   We perform external audits on State Government, and oversee audits performed on all local governments.  In some cases we also perform audits on local governments.  In too many cases, the audits we perform are fraud audits.  The governments we visit to conduct fraud audits have already learned the value of putting controls in place and holding their employees accountable for their actions.  We need to educate local governments on the benefits of being accountable.  We hold training for local government officials, and for CPA firms that audit local governments. We also post all budgets and financial reports on our web site at: www.sao.utah.gov
    
4. What are your most important accomplishments that would make you the most qualified candidate for office? 
    
   We operate a hotline where citizens or government employees can call with complaints about either state or local governments.  We have established a special projects team that specializes in dealing with hotline complaints and fraud audits.  All the members of the special projects team are not only CPAs, but also Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE).  We created a web site where all local government budgets and reports are housed.  This site also has the management letters prepared by the entity’s CPA with recommendations for improvements.  All or our reports concerning State Government are also listed.  We developed a performance audit group to better audit state programs to ensure they are accomplishing the purposes for which they were created.  We also audit the performance measures used by state agencies to request budget increases.  We have streamlined our audit process to be more efficient without losing any effectiveness.  We are currently establishing a system of electronic work papers.  This will again add efficiency to our process.
    
5. What skills, talents, and strengths do you have that enhance your ability to be an effective office holder?  
    
   I am a CPA with over 30 years experience in auditing governments.  I have been State Auditor since July 1995.  I served on the Auditing Standards Board, a board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that establishes auditing standards for all CPAs performing audits in the United States, both private business and government.  I served as an advisor to the Comptroller of the United States in setting auditing standards for any CPA auditing a government that receives federal funds.  I was on the task force that wrote the AIPCA audit guide on how to audit state and local governments.  I am past president of the National State Auditors Association coordinating the efforts of all the state auditors in representing States’ interests in national auditing issues. 
    
6. Why do you belong to your political party? 
    
   As I said above, I am a conservative by nature and by profession.  I believe the Republican Party is the party of fiscal constraint and responsibility.  Those principles are deeply ingrained.  However, once the election is over I forget my political ties in order to be objective in performing my duties as State Auditor.